1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field installation of domestic and commercial power outlets, electric switches and lighting fixtures. During a recent home renovation, the installation of domestic power outlets, electric switches, light fittings and their associated electrical boxes was found to be rather time consuming and installer unfriendly, particularly for a do-it-yourself installer. It was determined that these issues presented a considerable opportunity for improvements to the standard United States power outlet, electric switches, light fittings, their corresponding electrical boxes (collectively “electrical hardware”) and particularly the method of installation. Moreover it was realized that as a result of such improvements, considerable time and money can be saved during home construction if the electrical component installation process is made simpler, faster and more user friendly.
The improvements are achieved using a cartridge style installation system with a magnetic block, its matching magnetic template and innovative hole cutter. These devices speed up and simplify the installation process considerably, as well as making the location and cutting of installation holes completely accurate, every single time. The magnetic block is removably installed within the electrical box prior to installation of a drywall panel over them both. Subsequently, the matching magnetic template is attached to the outer surface of the drywall panel, it being held in place by the mutual magnetic attraction between its magnets and those of the magnetic block through the intervening drywall panel. Thus the template is accurately located for the marking of the installation hole outline. The hole cutter is then be used to accurately and quickly cut the installation hole for a power outlet, electric switch, light fitting, or ceiling fan as appropriate. The drywall panel is put up only once.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously, in order to accurately cut wall and ceiling power outlets and electric switch holes in drywall panels, also known as sheetrock and plasterboard, it needed to be offered up to its installed position over the electrical boxes, also known as wall boxes. Then the location of each electrical box had to be determined relative to the drywall panel's front face and the drywall marked with the outline of the desired holes. Conventionally, in order to do this, one or more people needed to hold the drywall panel steadily in its correct position while another person attempted to mark the outline of the desired hole(s) a prior art hole template might also have been used. Alternatively, the drywall needed to be temporarily tacked into position with drywall screws during this process. Either way, this was significantly more difficult for ceiling installations because of the weight of the drywall panels and the much more awkward overhead working position. Once the drywall was temporarily in place, however held, accurately determining the correct locations for the electrical box holes was difficult. This is because the electrical boxes are behind the wide panel of drywall and cannot readily be located from the front. Moreover they are often some distance from the edge of the drywall, making accurate hole location even more difficult.
A number of prior art attempts at overcoming these challenges have been made. However, to a greater or lesser degree, they are all rather unwieldy and without real commercial viability. For specific examples, see subsequent references to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,745,664, 3,913,235 and 8,099,878.
For purposes of this application, it is necessary to distinguish between “new work” and “old work.” New work refers to installation of electrical hardware and wiring in original construction. Old work means installation of electrical hardware and wiring in pre-existing buildings and residences.
Because new work prior art electrical boxes were often designed to have their outer edges more or less flush with the front face of the drywall panel through the cut-out holes, the temporarily positioned drywall panel was often bowed over those boxes during mark out and consequently its edges were distorted from their final installed positions. Prior art electrical boxes that had a depth adjustment feature which allowed them to be initially flush with the rear face of the drywall (avoiding bowing) were still almost as difficult to accurately locate for hole mark out as other prior art alternatives. It follows that power outlet holes in drywall were prone to be mispositioned, sometimes necessitating unsightly repairs or the scrapping of material.
Prior art installation of drywall has been labor intensive and time consuming because it was often first put up into place for the marking out of power outlet and electric switch holes, taken down in order to cut the holes and then finally repositioned for permanent installation. Another problem with the prior art has been its awkward nature and the time it took to wire wall and ceiling power outlets, or light fittings and electric switches. In order to meet building codes, a minimum of 12 inches of power cable wires are often required inside each electrical box. This makes it cumbersome to install the power outlet, electric switch, or light fitting, particularly if more than one power cable needs to be used. This is because all the power cable wires had to be forced back into the electrical box behind the power outlet, electric switch, or light fitting before it was fastened into place. Moreover, wiring the power outlet, electric switch, or light fitting was often cumbersome and time consuming because the wires had to be held in the right place, wrapped around the electrical terminals, then held steady while the terminal screws were tightened. Therefore it was an operation more easily managed with an assistant.
In the case of prior art ceiling outlets for light fittings, the wiring of light fittings has been even more cumbersome because of having to work overhead and at the same time bear the weight of the light fitting. Ceiling fans and other large light fittings often had a temporary method of suspending their weight while wiring was completed. Even then, their size and bulky shape usually obstructed the electrical box, making wiring more difficult.
There have been several prior art attempts to overcome some of these concerns. However, to a greater or lesser degree, they have all fallen short of a complete solution for a number of reasons, which will now be explained. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,884,111 (“the '111 reference”), also published as U.S. Pat. No. 7,081,010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,838, U.S. Pat. No. 8,028,408, US20030236010, US20050250378, US20080190640, US20100218374 and US20120021623 discloses a safety module electrical distribution system, which as far as is known, is the only commercially available product addressing any of these concerns. While this patent includes some novel safety features (column 2, lines 20-24), it is questionable whether the North American construction industry found these features of sufficient compelling value for the product to remain commercially viable for long. Moreover, this safety module electrical distribution system fails to address the issues of speeding up or simplifying the wiring of its associated electrical box. See FIGS. 16C and 16D of the '111 reference and the associated write up at column 12, lines 24-41. Also see the electrical box for product #2 at website
http://protectconnect.com/spinningProdcts.html.
This safety module electrical distribution system also completely fails to teach any improvement to the drywall installation process.
Next, U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,407 (“the '407 reference”) provides for a modular circuit system for use in an electrical wiring system with a circuit box and various modular inserts: power outlets, electric switches and the like. See column 1, lines 50 and 51. The circuit box has multiple sub-components arranged in a less than robust configuration and not conducive to commercial production (FIGS. 1 thru 27). The connections between the circuit box and the various modular inserts are flimsy and prone to misalignment and breakage. Like the previous reference, this reference fails to address the issues of speeding up or simplifying the wiring of its circuit box or installation of the drywall.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,222 (“the '222 reference”) provides for an electrical junction system having utility modules comparable to the modular inserts of the '407 reference. The illustrated wiring connections for the junction box (FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 6) are not accessible for maintenance or repair once the box has been installed behind drywall. Moreover, relying on the power cable's wires as its sole means of support once connected make them vulnerable to fracture, particularly when considering the brittleness typically induced in wiring by the cyclical heating and cooling that naturally occurs when electrical power is cycled on and off over a prolonged period. A brief reference was made to the possibility of the wires being secured to the junction box “by clamping action, or any other suitable action” (column 3, items 24a and 26). However, there is no elaboration on how that might be accomplished. It follows that, in the likely event of an electrical disconnection, the broken or loose wires would not be able to be re-connected without removal of the surrounding drywall, an unacceptable inconvenience to the user. Moreover, like the previous reference, this reference also fails to teach any improvement to the drywall installation process.
Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,870,099 and 6,617,511 provide for a power distribution system very similar to that of the electrical junction system of the '222 reference, but differ in the method of connection between its junction box with its junction devices (FIGS. 1 and 3) compared with those of the '222 reference (FIGS. 2 thru 3). In similar fashion to the previous reference, the wiring connection arrangement is highly problematic and the power distribution system as a whole completely fails to teach any improvement to the drywall installation process.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,563,049; 6,465,735 and 6,156,971 provided for an electrical system comprised of modular components, similar to that of the '407 '222 references and U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,099. These patents detail a larger range of modular components than those recited above. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,049 abstract, and column 8, lines 22-38 and FIGS. 1-21. Like the '222 reference, the wiring module base (electrical box), the power cables are connected into its external surface (FIG. 2 and column 8, lines 46-59). While this version uses a more robust method of connection, the connections are still not accessible once the drywall has been permanently installed. So as before, in the event of an electrical disconnection, the electrical box cannot be re-connected without removal of the surrounding drywall. Likewise, these references also completely fail to teach any improvement to the drywall installation process.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,165,443; 3,157,732 and 2,920,303 were all forerunners of the above detailed prior art. These are also similarly problematic for power cable connection and drywall installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,148 provided for various forms of ceiling fan and other electrically powered ceiling fixtures with “easy install” features (abstract and summary). With this reference, it is still necessary to manually connect individual electrical wires to the receptacle plate from the junction box. While the receptacle plate is easier to handle than a ceiling fan or light fitting, it still has to be held in position while the electrical connections are made, while the installer must stand at the top of a ladder with his arms over his head. Moreover, when the fan or light fitting needs to be replaced, the owner is also restricted to purchasing a replacement with the same exact receptacle plate (which may well not be available). Alternatively, he would have to carry out a full installation of a completely new unit, obviating the whole advantage of the “easy install” feature. Like the previous references, this reference failed to teach speeding up or simplifying wiring of the electrical box or installation of the drywall.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,878 teaches an electrical box template extension and a method for utilizing same. With this device, it is still necessary to take measurements and refer to integral leveling devices in order to accurately locate and orient the template in relation to the electrical box (column 4, lines 9-27). In essence, the only real benefit of this device is that it provides an accurate outline on an electrical box. Hole location errors are not significantly diminished over the prior art, neither is the implementation time significantly improved.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,235 (“the '235 reference”) provides for a marking apparatus attachable to a switch, or outlet box for marking its outline on the rear face of a wall panel (abstract). This device requires that the drywall sheet be temporarily offered up into its installed position and be taken back down again, which is now an unnecessary and laborious additional step (Summary, column 1, lines 40-62). The device's accuracy depended on the drywall sheet being held in exactly the same place as its final installed position. Positional adjustments created smudges and made the correct hole location unclear. Moreover, this device does very little to speed up the process of accurate electrical box hole location and cutting.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,745,664 provides for a TEMPLET [sic] FOR ELECTRICAL BOXES (abstract). A forerunner of the '235 reference, this is a stamp which is held on an electrical box and marks the rear face of the drywall sheet (abstract). This device runs into much the same issues as the '235 reference.